passport renewal agencies

[Hagbard Celine 11005]

search returned nothing, apologies if this is covered in another thread.....

I let mine lapse, next trip is 8 weeks away so i have time for a less-expensive option, do not want to trust passport to the bowels of the government, also want to renew wife's at the same time, so if there is a "combined processing of multiple renewals" product/service looking for that too.....

[gsoda3 3309]

8 weeks is plenty of time to do it yourself.  the turnaround's about 3 weeks right now.  

 

that said, we've used austin passport express more times than i care to remember.  it's much more $$ than doing it yourself but in a pinch you'll get your passport for sure.  make sure to take a half day off to get everything done though for a new passport.  you'll need to go to the agency office, then the courthouse downtown, then back to the agency office. 

[mr. littlejeans 184]

if you live in a city with a passport office you can go do it same-day in person yourself. you'll need to make an appointment and it's a bit more expensive than the regular renewal, but it was cheaper than the agencies. saved my ass when i didn't realize mine had lapsed until 36 hours pre-departure.

[LosIllini 91]

25 minutes ago, mr. littlejeans said:

if you live in a city with a passport office you can go do it same-day in person yourself. you'll need to make an appointment and it's a bit more expensive than the regular renewal, but it was cheaper than the agencies. saved my ass when i didn't realize mine had lapsed until 36 hours pre-departure.

This.  You make an appointment, show proof of travel (think I had a printout of my airline ticket), follow the instructions on documentation (used my expired passport), get photos done ahead of time, etc.  Think they only accepted cash/ exact change at the passport office.  Something like an additional $60 to expedite.  Plus $20 for 1-2 day shipping.

[4th&Five 41709]

i did mine in january and it took 2 weeks.

[Txzen 498]

Was in the same boat and was able to do this as others suggested - you have plenty of time (if you live near a Passport Center) to make an appointment and walk out the same day with your new passport. 

Have also used the agencies in the past and yes, they work very well, but the cost is not worth it given how much time you have, unless you simply can't find a few hours from a day to be there in person.

[wood 11612]

On 5/24/2018 at 2:22 PM, gsoda3 said:

8 weeks is plenty of time to do it yourself.  the turnaround's about 3 weeks right now.  

 

that said, we've used austin passport express more times than i care to remember.  it's much more $$ than doing it yourself but in a pinch you'll get your passport for sure.  make sure to take a half day off to get everything done though for a new passport.  you'll need to go to the agency office, then the courthouse downtown, then back to the agency office. 

You can get it all done in one stop at the Travis County complex on Airport. Just renewed my whole family of 4 there a few weeks ago. Pics, forms, everything. Took maybe 90 minutes total, including wait time. No appointment necessary & there were no extra fees to pay.  Got the passports in the mail 2 or 3 weeks later.

Edited May 25, 2018 by wood

[ocugolf 1215]

Going to Ireland in mid may. 14 weeks. Should i do the rush or should I be ok?

[Orale 1112]

Bump. Similar. I accidentally washed my passport and have a trip to Ireland end of October (10 weeks). I don't know if it's damaged enough to need replacing. But I don't want to show up for my international flight and get rejected.

I have an appointment tomorrow at a post office (official passport office). I'm going to pay for expedited plus pay for 2-day shipping. I should be fine, right? Maybe I get lucky and the post office person says my washed passport is fine. It doesn't seem particularly damaged. FAFO.

[yoladu 4169]

Got my passport renewed in Feb of this year - expediated passport took 5 to 7 weeks at that time.

i want to say i got it closer to 5 weeks than 7.

[LW Goatman 1125]

We did them last fall and they took like 2-3 weeks, including a new and renewal. New one was expedited and renewal not, both came back very quick. 

[Laxtonto 12642]

We sent my wife’s in mid-May and got it back Mid July. Mine I had to wait for the 14 day window because I was leaving in June so I had to do schedule roulettes and ended making a trip to do mine in Vermont….

 

Moral of the story is believe the processing time on the website and make sure you have a backup plan.

Edited August 14, 2023 by Laxtonto

[Orale 1112]

Thanks for the feedback. I went to a walk-in facility and the processor said my passport is fine. It looks 95% normal and I read online that it's still a legally valid passport even if the chip in it was damaged. I hope he's right and I'm not going to stress it. I have an unrelated domestic flight on Thursday and might try to see if I can get a customs person at the airport to swipe it to see if there's any issue with it. 

[FartingMonk 3608]

13 hours ago, Orale said:

Thanks for the feedback. I went to a walk-in facility and the processor said my passport is fine. It looks 95% normal and I read online that it's still a legally valid passport even if the chip in it was damaged. I hope he's right and I'm not going to stress it. I have an unrelated domestic flight on Thursday and might try to see if I can get a customs person at the airport to swipe it to see if there's any issue with it. 

Yeah.  I was gonna say it might be easier for you to take a cheap domestic flight and see if it works.  Use it at TSA.  Their machine is the same as the customs machine.  If it reads on that I wouldn't sweat it.

[The Ace of Aces 5330]

This thread reminded me to check mine ….. annnnd it expired in May. Shit! Filled out for, paying for expedited service, sent priority, paying for priority back, and the $16 drug store photo makes that an expensive idiotic mistake. Hope I get it back in time for a late august work trip to Spain. I’m doibtufn. 

[ohchaucer 1443]

This thread reminded me to check mine ….. annnnd it expired in May. Shit! Filled out for, paying for expedited service, sent priority, paying for priority back, and the $16 drug store photo makes that an expensive idiotic mistake. Hope I get it back in time for a late august work trip to Spain. I’m doibtufn. 

You need to make an appointment at an office. Even with expedited it’s 7-9 weeks (I just did mine and it came just under 8 weeks). They are unfathomably understaffed and slow right now.

You’ll be on hold for like 3 hours but when they answer tell them you have booked travel within two weeks and they will try to help. (If you have to, book a refundable flight to Canada for a week out or something, then just cancel it after your appointment).

A few months ago I was almost in the same pickle. For reference, the only appointments available to me were Atlanta or Scottsdale (note: I live an hour from NYC).

Seriously, it might be improving a bit lately but I would not wait.

[SydneyCarton 48320]

On 8/14/2023 at 12:25 PM, Orale said:

Bump. Similar. I accidentally washed my passport and have a trip to Ireland end of October (10 weeks). I don't know if it's damaged enough to need replacing. But I don't want to show up for my international flight and get rejected.

I have an appointment tomorrow at a post office (official passport office). I'm going to pay for expedited plus pay for 2-day shipping. I should be fine, right? Maybe I get lucky and the post office person says my washed passport is fine. It doesn't seem particularly damaged. FAFO.

WE had a great experience with a passport service. We had to wait to get within a 10 day window where we could get an emergency expedite, but they got it done with 2 days to spare, as they predicted. 

It was fairly expensive, but it was worth it. 

[Captain Ron 12968]

22 hours ago, The Ace of Aces said:

This thread reminded me to check mine ….. annnnd it expired in May. Shit! Filled out for, paying for expedited service, sent priority, paying for priority back, and the $16 drug store photo makes that an expensive idiotic mistake. Hope I get it back in time for a late august work trip to Spain. I’m doibtufn. 

Call now for an appointment, they are booked solid. You should be in your 14 day window, so you should be able to get an appointment now.

  

21 hours ago, ohchaucer said:

You need to make an appointment at an office. Even with expedited it’s 7-9 weeks (I just did mine and it came just under 8 weeks). They are unfathomably understaffed and slow right now.

You’ll be on hold for like 3 hours but when they answer tell them you have booked travel within two weeks and they will try to help. (If you have to, book a refundable flight to Canada for a week out or something, then just cancel it after your appointment).

A few months ago I was almost in the same pickle. For reference, the only appointments available to me were Atlanta or Scottsdale (note: I live an hour from NYC).

Seriously, it might be improving a bit lately but I would not wait.

It really depends. I've called and been on hold for 30 minutes, I've also called and literally waited less than 2. it's really a roll of the dice.

 

Also @The Ace of Aces I hope you haven't sent it yet, you might not be able to get that expedited. Good luck.

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Captain Ron

[The Ace of Aces 5330]

2 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

Call now for an appointment, they are booked solid. You should be in your 14 day window, so you should be able to get an appointment now.

  

It really depends. I've called and been on hold for 30 minutes, I've also called and literally waited less than 2. it's really a roll of the dice.

 

Also @The Ace of Aces I hope you haven't sent it yet, you might not be able to get that expedited. Good luck.

 

Have great personal contact with a US Senator here so I’m good. Thank for all the tips though! 

[idigTexas 2297]

For anyone needing a renewal, I just had mine done.  I got the digital photos at CVS.  I applied for the renewal online.  I received payment confirmation in two days.  I had my new passport in 18 days (it may have hit my mailbox sooner, but I only check it once a week).  

There was no bullshit third-party involved, and I did not pay to expedite it.  It was completely painless and ridiculously efficient.  

I'm not suggesting that you absolutely depend on this level of service, but if you have a 6-week+ window, you should be fine.  

[Napoleon 8710]

19 minutes ago, idigTexas said:

For anyone needing a renewal, I just had mine done.  I got the digital photos at CVS.  I applied for the renewal online.  I received payment confirmation in two days.  I had my new passport in 18 days (it may have hit my mailbox sooner, but I only check it once a week).  

There was no bullshit third-party involved, and I did not pay to expedite it.  It was completely painless and ridiculously efficient.  

I'm not suggesting that you absolutely depend on this level of service, but if you have a 6-week+ window, you should be fine.  

Rookie!

Needed a new passport in 11-ish weeks, so…

1) I put a flight to Spain 🇪🇸 on HOLD that would depart in 15 days.

2) I called and asked about an expedited flight and was told that the expedited window opens 14 days before departure. They told me to “Call back tomorrow.”

3) I “bought” my flight that was on hold and then I called back the next day. (Tuesday)

4) Since I was “flying in 14 days”, they set up an appointment for me in 3 days.

5) I showed up with all my shit (including a print out of my plane tickets) on Friday and it took about 15 to 30 minutes. I was told that it would be ready in a week.

6) I went back a week later to get my new passport. (That took about 10 to 15 minutes.)

7) That evening “something came up”, so I had to cancel my flight that was departing in 4 days.

8 . The whole thing took 10-ish days. 
 

😎🇺🇸✈️

Edited August 23 by Napoleon